University of North Carolina Athletics
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: Fullback Battle Heats Up
August 15, 2003 | Football
Aug. 15, 2003
By Adam Lucas
John Bunting said this week that the fullback is close to football extinction, but the position should survive long enough to produce a close battle for Carolina's starting role in 2003.
As offenses become more wide open and coordinators try to find a way to get more versatile players on the field, the fullback has been phased out in some offenses in favor of an extra receiver or a double-threat tight end.
"The fullback position is kind of on the endangered species list," Bunting says. "You've already got some teams that don't play with one at all."
The Tar Heels are not one of those teams. Former starting fullback Madison Hedgecock was moved to defensive end this spring, partly because offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill doesn't plan to always employ a formation that uses a fullback and the coaching staff felt Hedgecock was too good a football player to stand on the sidelines. That switch created what was expected to be a two-way dual for the starting position. During training camp, however, it has turned into a three-way fight.
Sophomore Rikki Cook, a Rutgers transfer, and junior James Gibson, who saw some time at the position in 2002, were expected to compete for the starting job. But Bunting, who values toughness and mistake-free execution, says a third player has entered the fray.
"I'll say this," the third-year head coach said this week after practice. "Leon Scroggins has created a stir over there. He has never played fullback before but he doesn't make mistakes."
Scroggins, who everyone on the squad calls "Scroggy," is a former linebacker who was heretofore better known for his ability to speak Japanese than his ability to be a lead blocker. Voted by his teammates as the hardest working member of the team, the Dallas native is in his third year as a walk-on.
A competitive powerlifter in high school, Scroggins has made his presence felt in an auditory fashion.
"When I hear a loud noise out there with a collision, it's usually Scroggy," Bunting says. "He has added something to our offense."
As a career linebacker, however, a low comfort level with catching the ball may eventually limit Scroggins's role in the offense. Tranquill has installed a complex attack that spreads the ball around to every eligible receiver, and Cook and Gibson have more developed pass-catching skills.
Gibson, a former walk-on from Alexandria, Va., who earned a scholarship prior to the 2002 season, may be the best receiver of the trio. Cook, who rushed for over 2,000 yards as a senior at Montclair High School in New Jersey, may be the most dangerous runner.
"I'm an athletic fullback," Cook says. "I used to play tailback. If we want to go single-back and I need to run the ball, I can do that, and if we need me to catch the ball, I can do that."
Although Cook and Gibson have split most of the first-team repetitions in training camp, the starting position against Florida State won't go to the best blocker, or the best runner, or the best receiver. It will go to the best overall player.
"I don't have enough time during a game to say this guy does this the best, or this guy does that the best," Bunting says.
An additional element added to the fullback battle is that the Tar Heels are still looking for someone who can play tight end in a two-tight end formation. Bunting said this week that Cook and Gibson are capable of filling that role and that the Heels are pursuing players with that type of versatility in recruiting.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
